Grammer by prem baboo
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This document provides an overview of the simple present tense of the verb "to be" in English. It discusses: 1. The different uses of the simple present tense, including for habitual actions, general truths, and events portrayed in media. 2. The conjugation of the verb "to be" in the simple present, including the forms for affirmative statements, questions, negative statements, and negative questions. 3. How to form tag questions with the simple present of "to be", ensuring the subject and verb are repeated at the end in the appropriate form. Exercises are provided at the end to practice the concepts covered. The document serves as a grammar reference for students to learn the basic
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Grammer by prem baboo
- 2. 1 CHAPTER 1. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF THE VERB TO BE 1. Grammar The grammar of a language is an analysis of the various functions performed by the words of the language, as they are used by native speakers and writers. There are many different ways of analyzing a language. In such an analysis, words can be given various names, depending on the function which they perform. For instance, words which perform the function of naming things are commonly referred to as nouns, and words which perform the function of expressing states or actions are commonly referred to as verbs. It should be kept in mind that many English words can perform more than one function. For instance, in the following sentences, the underlined words can be referred to as nouns because they perform the function of naming things. e.g. I have lost my comb. Water is one of the necessities of life. However, in the following sentences, the same words can be referred to as verbs because they perform the function of expressing actions. e.g. I comb my hair every morning. Do you water your plants once a week? In this book, widely used terms such as noun, verb, pronoun and so on, will be used in order to explain the way in which words function in the English language. 2. Verb forms English verbs may have different forms, depending on the subject of the verb, and depending on when the action expressed by the verb takes place. In the following sentences, the subjects of the verbs indicate who or what is performing the actions expressed by the verbs. The verbs in these examples are underlined. e.g. We live in the city. He lives on Queen Street. These examples illustrate how the form of a verb may vary, depending on the subject of the verb. In the first example, the subject is we, and the form of the verb is live. In the second example, the subject is he, and the form of the verb is lives. The different verb forms which indicate when the action expressed by a verb takes place are usually referred to as tenses.
- 3. 2 e.g. We always walk to work. We walked to work yesterday. In the first sentence, the verb walk is in the Simple Present tense. In the second sentence, the verb walked is in the Simple Past tense. Present tenses are usually used to express actions which are taking place in the present; whereas past tenses are usually used to express actions which took place in the past.The infinitive form of a verb can be used without reference to any particular subject or any particular time. In English, the infinitive form of a verb begins with the word to. For instance, to walk is the infinitive of the verb used in the two preceding examples. 3. Uses of the simple present tense The Simple Present is one of four present tenses in English, and is used in various ways. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Simple Present tense are underlined. For instance, the Simple Present can be used to refer to actions which occur at regular intervals. e.g. We visit our friends every Sunday. They take a holiday once a year. Geese fly south every fall. The Simple Present is also used in stating general truths. e.g. Gas expands when heated. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. Canada lies north of the United States. In addition, the Simple Present is used when referring to printed material, and when describing events portrayed in a book, film, or other work of art. e.g. The report presents the information clearly. At the end of the film, the hero finds the hidden treasure. Occasionally, the Simple Present is used to express actions occurring in the future or the past. e.g. Our plane leaves at eight o'clock tomorrow night. Burglar Steals Valuable Paintings In the first example; the Simple Present is used to refer to something which will happen in the future. In the second example, which is written in the style of a newspaper headline, the Simple Present is used to refer to something which happened in the past.
- 4. 3 4. The simple present of the verb To Be A conjugation of a verb is a list showing the different forms a verb may take. When a verb is conjugated, it is usually accompanied by all of the personal pronouns which can act as subjects of a verb. Thus, a conjugation can show the different forms a verb must take when it is used with different subjects.The English personal pronouns which may be used as subjects of verbs are as follows: I you he she it we they It should be noted that in modern English, the same verb forms are used with the subject you, whether you refers to one or more than one person or thing. In an older form of English, there was another personal pronoun, thou, which was used with different verb forms, and which generally referred to one person or thing. The Simple Present of the verb to be is conjugated as follows. In spoken English, contractions are often used. Without contractions With contractions I am I'm you are you're he is he's she is she's it is it's we are we're they are they're In written English, an apostrophe: ' is used in a contraction, to indicate that one or more letters have been omitted. a. Affirmative statements An affirmative statement states that something is true. In an affirmative statement, the verb follows the subject. e.g. I am awake. They are ready. In the first example, the verb am follows the subject I. In the second example, the verb are follows the subject they. In written English, statements are always followed by a period:
- 5. 4 Statements and questions must begin with a capital letter. In order to review the preceding points, see Exercise 1. b. Questions for the Simple Present of the verb to be, questions are formed by reversing the order of the subject and the verb, so that the verb precedes the subject. e.g. Am I awake? Are they ready? In the first example, the verb am precedes the subject I. In the second example, the verb are precedes the subject they. In written English, questions are always followed by a question mark:? See Exercise 2. c. Negative statements In the Simple Present of the verb to be, negative statements are formed by adding the word not after the verb. e.g. I am not awake. They are not ready. In the first example, not follows the verb am. In the second example, not follows the verb are. In spoken English, the following contractions are often used: Without contractions With contractions is not isn't are not aren't See Exercise 3. d. Negative questions In the Simple Present of the verb to be, negative questions are formed by reversing the order of the subject and verb, and adding not after the subject. e.g. Am I not awake? Are they not ready? In spoken English, contractions are usually used in negative questions. In the contracted form of a negative question, the contraction of not follows immediately after the verb. For example:
- 6. 5 Without contractions With contractions Are you not awake? Aren't you awake? Is he not awake? Isn't he awake? Are we not awake? Aren't we awake? Are they not awake? Aren't they awake? It should be noted that there is no universally accepted contraction for am not. In spoken English, am I not? is often contracted to aren't I?. However, although the expression aren't I? is considered acceptable in informal English, it is not considered to be grammatically correct in formal English. In formal English, no contraction should be used for am I not. See Exercise 4. e. Tag questions A tag question is a question added at the end of a sentence. A tag question following an affirmative statement generally has the form of a negative question, with the meaning: Isn't that true? In some languages, such tag questions are invariable. However, in English, tag questions vary, depending on the verbs and subjects of the preceding statements. In the following examples, the tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions. For example: Affirmative statement Affirmative statement with tag question Are you not awake? Aren't you awake? I am awake. I am awake, am I not? You are awake. You are awake, aren't you? She is awake. She is awake, isn't she? We are awake. We are awake, aren't we? They are awake. They are awake, aren't they? These examples illustrate how the subjects and verbs of the preceding statements are repeated in tag questions. For instance, in the first example, the subject I and the verb am are repeated in the tag question. In the second example, the subject you and the verb are are repeated in the tag question.In spoken English, the expression aren't I? is often used as a tag question. However, this is not considered to be grammatically correct in formal, writtenEnglish. See Exercises 5 and 6. EXERCISES for Chapter 1
- 8. 7 Answers 5. Add negative tag questions to the ends of the affirmative statements resulting from Exercise 1. Except where the subject of the verb is I, use contractions for the tag questions. For example: I am cautious. I am cautious, am I not? They are friendly. They are friendly, aren't they? Answers 6. Using the Simple Present of the verb to be, and making sure that the word order is correct, form the following groups of words into grammatically correct statements or questions. If the symbol ? is present, form the words into a question. If the word not is present, form the words into a negative statement or negative question. Do not use contractions in this exercise. For example: it, brown It is brown. you, ?, excited Are you excited? I, satisfied, not I am not satisfied. not, ?, they, ready Are they not ready? 1. you, ?, hungry 2. we, ?, not, correct 3. he, ?, happy 4. not, ?, it, cold 5. she, here 6. I, early, ? 7. they, wrong, not 8. you, ?, comfortable 9. they, ?, not, strong 10. not, ?, I, fortunate 11. it, slippery, ? 12. not, you, late 13. it, not, ?, important
- 10. 9 1. Are you hungry? 2. Are we not correct? 3. Is he happy? 4. Is it not cold? 5. She is here. 6. Am I early? 7. They are not wrong. 8. Are you comfortable? 9. Are they not strong? 10. Am I not fortunate? ii. Is it slippery? 12. You are not late. 13. Is it not important? 14. We are famous. 15. Are they present? CHAPTER 2. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS OTHER THAN THE VERB TO BE 1. Formation of the simple present The Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be is formed from the bare infinitive of the verb. As shown in the following examples, the bare infinitive of a verb consists of the infinitive without the word to. The bare infinitive is the form in which English verbs are usually listed in dictionaries. For example: Infinitive Bare Infinitive to be be to walk walk to work work In the Simple Present of verbs other than the verb to be, the form of the verb used with the subjects I , you, we and they is the same as the bare infinitive. The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it has the ending s added to the bare infinitive. For example, the Simple Present of the verb to work is conjugated as follows: I work you work he works she works it works we work they work The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it is generally referred to as the third person singular See Exercise 1. a. The simple present of the verb To Have The Simple Present of the verb to have is slightly irregular, since the bare infinitive is have, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular is has. The Simple Present of the verb to have is conjugated as follows: I have
- 11. 10 you have he has she has it has we have they have See Exercise 2. 2. Spelling rules for adding s in the third person singular Some verbs change their spelling when s is added in the third person singular. a. Verbs ending in y The English letters a, e, i, o and u are generally referred to as vowels. The other English letters are generally referred to as consonants. When a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to ie before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the consonant immediately preceding the final y is underlined. Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular study studies fly flies carry carries However, when a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the vowel immediately preceding the final y is underlined. Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular say says enjoy enjoys buy buys See Exercise 3. b. Verbs ending in o When a verb ends in o, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example: Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular do does echo echoes go goes
- 12. 11 c. Verbs ending in ch, s, sh, x or z When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example: Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular pass passes push pushes watch watches fix fixes buzz buzzes See Exercise 4. 3. Pronunciation of the es ending A syllable is a unit of pronunciation, usually consisting of a vowel sound which may or may not be accompanied by consonants. When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the es ending of the third person singular is pronounced as a separate syllable. The reason for this is that these sounds are so similar to the sound of the es ending, that the ending must be pronounced as a separate syllable in order to be heard clearly.In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists of two syllables. Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular pass passes push pushes catch catches mix mixes Similarly, when s is added to verbs ending in ce, ge, se or ze, the final es is usually pronounced as a separate syllable. In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists of two syllables. Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular race races rage rages praise praises doze dozes However, when s is added to a verb ending in e preceded by a letter other than c, g, s or z, the final es is not pronounced as a separate syllable. In each of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the form of the verb used in the third person singular consist of one syllable.
- 13. 12 Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular make makes smile smiles dine dines save saves See Exercise 5. 4. The auxiliary Do With the exception of the verb to be, verbs in modern English use the auxiliary do to form questions and negative statements in the Simple Present.The Simple Present of the verb to do is conjugated as follows: I do you do he does she does it does we do they do Auxiliaries are verbs which are combined with other verbs to form various tenses. It should be noted that when an auxiliary is combined with another verb, it is the auxiliary which must agree with the subject, while the form of the other verb remains invariable. When the auxiliary do is combined with another verb, the other verb always has the form of the bare infinitive. a. Questions In order to form a question in the Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is added before the subject, and the bare infinitive of the verb is placed after the subject. For example: Affirmative Statement Question I work. Do I work? You work. Do you work? He works. Does he work? She works. Does she work? It works. Does it work? We work. Do we work? They work. Do they work? See Exercise 6.
- 14. 13 b. Negative statements In order to form a negative statement, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do followed by the word not is placed before the bare infinitive of the verb. For example: Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I work. I do not work. You work. You do not work. He works. He does not work. She works. She does not work. It works. It does not work. We work. We do not work. They work. They do not work. See Exercise 7. In spoken English, the following contractions are often used: Without contractions With contractions do not don't does not doesn't c. Negative questions To form a negative question, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is placed before the subject, and the word not followed by the bare infinitive is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the Simple Present of the auxiliary do. For example: Without contractions With contractions Do I not work? Don't I work? Do you not work? Don't you work? Does he not work? Doesn't he work? Does she not work? Doesn't she work? Does it not work? Doesn't it work? Do we not work? Don't we work? Do they not work? Don't they work? See Exercise 8. d. Tag questions The auxiliary do or does is used for a tag question which follows a statement containing the Simple Present of a verb other than the verb to be. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions. Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I work. I work, don't I?
- 15. 14 You work. You work, don't you? He works. He works, doesn't he? She works. She works, doesn't she? It works. It works, doesn't it? We work. We work, don't we? They work. They work, don't they? See Exercise 9. e. The verb To Have It should be noted that, particularly in British English, in the case of the Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to have, questions and negative statements are sometimes formed in the same way as for the verb to be, without the use of the auxiliary do. e.g. He has a sister, hasn't he? EXERCISES for Chapter 2 1. Using the Simple Present tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example: I ______ to the radio. (to listen) I listen to the radio. He _______ to the radio. (to listen) He listens to the radio. 1. She __________ the guitar. (to play) 2. We __________ soccer. (to play) 3. They _________ to talk. (to like) 4. He __________ ice cream. (to like) 5. You _________ your friends often. (to call) 6. He _________ the office every day. (to call) 7. She __________ regularly. (to practise) 8. They __________ once a week. (to practise) 9. We __________ here. (to shop) 10. It __________ delicious. (to taste) Answers 2. Using the Simple Present tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verb to have. For example: I ____ a pen. I have a pen. He ___ two pencils.
- 19. 18 Answers to Exercise 1: 1. plays 2. play 3. like 4. likes 5. call 6. calls 7. practises 8. practise 9. shop 10. tastes Answers to Exercise 2: 1. have 2. have 3. has 4. have 5. have 6. has 7. have 8. have 9. has 10. have Answers to Exercise 3: 1. denies 2. try 3. pays 4. studies 5. display 6. enjoys 7. flies 8. employ 9. accompanies 10. buys Answers to Exercise 4: 1. does 2. watches 3. owns 4. do 5. wishes 6. wants 7. confesses 8. tells 9. press 10. washes Answers to Exercise 5: 1. watches 2 2. teases 2 3. likes 1 4. rushes 2 5. faces 2 6. dines 1 7. misses 2 8. tames 1 9. scares 1 10. passes 2 11. pinches 2 12. wades 1 Answers to Exercise 6: 1. Do I hurry home? 2. Does he drive a truck? 3. Do you follow the news? 4. Do they want a pet? 5. Does she like flowers? 6. Do we need tea? 7. Does she answer the questions? 8. Does he drink coffee? 9. Do I learn quickly? 10. Does it rain heavily? Answers to Exercise 7: 1. I do not hurry home. 2. He does not drive a truck. 3. You do not follow the news. 4. They do not want a pet. 5. She does not like flowers. 6. We do not need tea. 7. She does not answer the questions. 8. He does not drink coffee. 9. I do not learn quickly. 10. It does not rain heavily. Answers to Exercise 8: 1. Do I not hurry home? Don't I hurry home? 2. Does he not drive a truck? Doesn't he drive a truck? 3. Do you not follow the news? Don't you follows the news? 4. Do they not want a pet? Don't they want a pet? 5. Does she not like flowers? Doesn't she like flowers? 6. Do we not need tea? Don't we need tea? 7. Does she not answer the questions? Doesn't she answer the questions? 8. Does he not drink coffee? Doesn't he drink coffee? 9. Do I not learn quickly? Don't I learn quickly? 10. Does it not rain heavily? Doesn't it rain heavily? Answers to Exercise 9: 1. I hurry home, don't I? 2. He drives a truck, doesn't he? 3. You follow the news, don't you? 4. They want a pet, don't they? 5. She likes flowers,
- 20. 19 doesn't she? 6. We need tea, don't we? 7. She answers the questions, doesn't she? 8. He drinks coffee, doesn't he? 9. I learn quickly, don't I? 10. It rains heavily, doesn't it? CHAPTER 3. THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS 1. Uses of the present continuous In English, the Present Continuous tense is usually used to express continuing, ongoing actions which are taking place at the moment of speaking or writing. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Present Continuous tense are underlined.e.g. Right now I am cooking supper. At the moment the plane is flying over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.The Present Continuous tense is often used in conversation. e.g. "What are you doing?" "I am working on my English assignment." Occasionally, the Present Continuous tense is used to refer to a future event. e.g. We are leaving tomorrow. 2. Formation of the present continuous The Present Continuous tense of any verb is formed from the Simple Present of the auxiliary to be, followed by what is generally referred to as the present participle of the verb. The present participle of a verb is formed by adding ing to the bare infinitive. For instance, the present participle of the verb to work is working. Thus, the Present Continuous tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows: I am working you are working he is working she is working it is working we are working
- 21. 20 they are working See Exercise 1. 3. Spelling rules for the formation of the present participle Some verbs change their spelling when the ending ing is added to form the present participle. a. Verbs ending in a silent e When a verb ends in a silent e, the silent e is dropped before the ending ing is added. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to close closing to dine dining to leave leaving to move moving However, when a verb ends in an e which is not silent, the final e is not dropped before the ending ing is added. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to be being to see seeing b. Verbs ending in ie When a verb ends in ie, the ie is changed to y before the ending ing is added. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to die dying to lie lying When a verb ends in y, no change is made before the ending is added. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to fly flying to play playing See Exercise 2.
- 22. 21 c. Onesyllable verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel Except in the case of the final consonants w, x and y, when a one‐syllable verb ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ing is added. The reason for this is to reflect the fact that the pronunciation of the single vowel does not change when the ending ing is added. English vowels have a variety of pronunciations. For instance, each English vowel has two contrasting pronunciations, which are sometimes referred to as short and long. Vowels which are followed by two consonants, and vowels which are followed by a single consonant at the end of a word, are generally pronounced short. In contrast, vowels which are followed by a single consonant followed by another vowel are generally pronounced long. In the table below, the underlined vowels in the left‐hand column are pronounced short; whereas the underlined vowels in the right‐hand column are pronounced long. For example: Short Vowels Long Vowels fat fate tapping taping let delete win wine filling filing not note hopping hoping flutter flute Thus, in the case of most one‐syllable verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the vowel is pronounced short. In order to reflect the fact that the vowel is also pronounced short in the corresponding present participle, except in the case of w, x and y, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ing is added. In the following examples, the consonants which have been doubled are underlined. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to nod nodding to dig digging to run running to clap clapping to set setting When a verb ends in w, x or y preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending is added. For example: Infinitive Present Participle
- 23. 22 to draw drawing to fix fixing to say saying It should also be noted that when a verb ends in a single consonant preceded by two vowels, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending is added. The reason for this is that two vowels together are generally pronounced long. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to rain raining to read reading to meet meeting to soak soaking See Exercise 3. d. Verbs of more than one syllable which end in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel When a verb of more than one syllable ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled to form the present participle only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress.For instance, in the following examples, the last syllables of the verbs have the heaviest stress, and the final consonants are doubled to form the present participles. In these examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to expel expelling to begin beginning to occur occurring to omit omitting When a verb of more than one syllable ends in w, x or y, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending ing is added. In the following examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example: Infinitive Present Participle to allow allowing to affix affixing to convey conveying When the last syllable of a verb is not pronounced with the heaviest stress, the final consonant is usually not doubled to form the present participle. For instance, in the following examples, the last syllables of the verbs do not have the heaviest stress, and the final consonants are not doubled to form the present participles. In these examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:
- 24. 23 Infinitive Present Participle to listen listening to order ordering to focus focusing to limit limiting If necessary, a dictionary can be consulted to determine which syllable of a verb has the heaviest stress. Many dictionaries use symbols such as apostrophes to indicate which syllables are pronounced with the heaviest stress. SeeExercise4. It should be noted that British and American spelling rules differ for verbs which end in a single l preceded by a single vowel. In British spelling, the l is always doubled before the endings ing and ed are added. However, in American spelling, verbs ending with a single l follow the same rule as other verbs; the l is doubled only when the last syllable has the heaviest stress. In the following examples, the syllables with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example: Infinitive Present Participle American Spelling British Spelling to signal signaling signalling to travel traveling travelling to compel compelling compelling to propel propelling propelling From these examples it can be seen that the American and British spellings for verbs ending in a single l differ only when the last syllable does not have the heaviest stress. 4. Questions and negative statements a. Questions In the Present Continuous, the verb to be acts as an auxiliary. As is the case with other English tenses, it is the auxiliary which is used to form questions and negative statements. To form a question in the Present Continuous tense, the auxiliary is placed before the subject. For example: Affirmative Statement Question I am working. Am I working? You are working. Are you working?
- 25. 24 He is working. Is he working? She is working. Is she working? It is working. Is it working? We are working. Are we working? They are working. Are they working? See Exercise 5. b. Negative statements To form a negative statement, the word not is added after the auxiliary. For example: Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I am working. I am not working. You are working. You are not working. He is working. He is not working. She is working. She is not working. It is working. It is not working. We are working. We are not working. They are working. They are not working. See Exercise 6. c. Negative questions To form a negative question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary. Although there is no universally accepted contraction for am not, the expression aren't I? is often used in spoken English. For example: Without Contractions With Contractions Am I not working? [Aren't I working?] ‐ used in speaking Are you not working? Aren't you working? Is he not working? Isn't he working? Is she not working? Isn't she working? Is it not working? Isn't it working? Are we not working? Aren't we working? Are they not working? Aren't they working? See Exercise 7. d. Tag questions Tag questions are also formed using the auxiliary. In the following examples, the tag questions are underlined. In spoken English, aren't I? is often used as a tag question. For example:
- 26. 25 Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I am working. I am working, am I not? You are working. You are working, aren't you? He is working. He is working, isn't he? She is working. She is working, isn't she? It is working. It is working, isn't it? We are working. We are working, aren't we? They are working. They are working, aren't they? See Exercise 8. 5. Comparison of the uses of the simple present and present continuous As pointed out in Chapter 1, the Simple Present tense may be used for stating general truths, and for referring to actions which occur at regular intervals. In the following examples, the verbs in the Simple Present tense are underlined.e.g. Nova Scotia is a Canadian province. Geese fly south every winter.In contrast, the Present Continuous tense is usually used to refer to ongoing actions happening at the time of speaking or writing. In the following examples, the verbs in the Present Continuous tense are underlined. e.g. Right now, I am visiting the province of Nova Scotia. At the moment, a flock of geese is flying overhead. See Exercise 9. EXERCISES for Chapter 3 1. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example: He _________ hard. (to work) He is working hard. We ____________ anxious. (to feel) We are feeling anxious. 1. I _______________ the questions. (to answer) 2. You ________________ boots. (to wear) 3. We ______________ for work. (to look) 4. She ______________ her friend. (to call) 5. He _______________ a house. (to build) 6. They _______________ supper. (to cook) 7. We ______________ a story. (to tell) 8. You ______________ for the bus. (to wait) 9. I _______________ a book. (to read) 10. They _______________ berries. (to pick)
- 28. 27 11. I ________________ the toaster. (to fix) 12. He _________________ his coffee. (to sip) 13. They __________________ the hedge. (to trim) 14. You _________________ the ducks. (to feed) 15. She _________________ her head. (to nod) Answers 4. Each of the following sentences is preceded by a bare infinitive, the most heavily stressed syllable of which is underlined. Paying attention to whether or not the final consonant should be doubled before ing is added, fill in the blanks with the present participles corresponding to the bare infinitives. Use the American spelling for verbs ending in l. For example: whisper: They are __________ to their friends. They are whispering to their friends. refer: I was _________ to your letter. I was referring to your letter. 1. open: I am _____________ the door. 2. display: She is ______________ her talents. 3. submit: He is _______________ his report tomorrow. 4. limit: The store is _____________ the number of items on sale. 5. permit: We are not _____________ him to go. 6. sharpen: They are _______________ the pencils. 7. confer: She is ________________ with her colleagues. 8. focus: He is ________________ the camera. 9. repel: They are ________________ the attack. 10. shovel: I am ________________ the steps. 11. destroy: Hail is _______________ the crops. 12. dispel: They are _______________ our doubts. 13. squander: He is _______________ his money. 14. prefer: We are _______________ our new school to the old one. 15. color: The child is ______________ the picture. 16. unravel: We are _____________ the wool. 17. propel: Jet engines are _______________ the plane. 18. flower: The pansies are _______________ 19. infer: They are ______________ that we do not want to come. 20. listen: The children are ______________ to us. Answers 5. Change the following affirmative statements into questions. For example: It is snowing.
- 31. 30 Answers to Exercise 4: 1. opening 2. displaying 3. submitting 4. limiting 5. permitting 6. sharpening 7. conferring 8. focusing 9. repelling 10. shoveling 11. destroying 12. dispelling 13. squandering 14. preferring 15. coloring 16. unraveling 17. propelling 18. flowering 19. inferring 20. listening Answers to Exercise 5: 1. Am I learning English? 2. Are you carrying a parcel? 3. Is it growing colder? 4. Are we living in Halifax? 5. Are they running a race? 6. Is he drinking coffee? 7. Is she shopping for presents? 8. Am I cleaning the window? 9. Are we buying pencils? 10. Are they playing football? Answers to Exercise 6: 1. I am not learning English. 2. You are not carrying a parcel. 3. It is not growing colder. 4. We are not living in Halifax. 5. They are not running a race. 6. He is not drinking coffee. 7. She is not shopping for presents. 8. I am not cleaning the window. 9. We are not buying pencils. 10. They are not playing football. Answers to Exercise 7: 1. Am I not learning English? 2. Are you not carrying a parcel? Aren't you carrying a parcel? 3. Is it not growing colder? Isn't it growing colder? 4. Are we not living in Halifax? Aren't we living in Halifax? 5. Are they not running a race? Aren't they running a race? 6. Is he not drinking coffee? Isn't he drinking coffee? 7. Is she not shopping for presents? Isn't she shopping for presents? 8. Am I not cleaning the window? 9. Are we not buying pencils? Aren't we buying pencils? 10. Are they not playing football? Aren't they playing football? Answers to Exercise 8: 1. I am learning English, am I not? 2. You are carrying a parcel, aren't you? 3. It is growing colder, isn't it? 4. We are living in Halifax, aren't we? 5. They are running a race, aren't they? 6. He is drinking coffee, isn't he? 7. She is shopping for presents, isn't she? 8. I am cleaning the window, am I not? 9. We are buying pencils, aren't we? 10. They are playing football, aren't they? Answers to Exercise 9: 1. am cooking 2. reads 3. are studying 4. studies 5. is raining 6. travel 7. are doing 8. answers 9. are 10. am listening 11. visit 12. am looking CHAPTER 4. THE PRESENT PERFECT AND THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
- 32. 31 1. Use of the present perfect The English Present Perfect tense is used to express actions which have already been completed, or perfected, at the time of speaking or writing. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Present Perfect tense are underlined. e.g. I have done the work. She has answered half the questions. In the first example, the use of the Present Perfect tense emphasizes the fact that, at the time of speaking or writing, the work has already been completed. In the second example, the use of the Present Perfect indicates that, at the time of speaking or writing, half the questions have been answered. 2. Formation of the present perfect: Regular verbs The Present Perfect tense of any English verb is formed from the Simple Present of the auxiliary to have, followed by what is generally referred to as the past participle of the verb.Most English verbs form the past participle in a regular, predictable manner. These verbs are commonly referred to as regular verbs.The past participle of a regular English verb is formed by adding the ending ed to the bare infinitive of the verb. For instance, the past participle of the verb to work is worked. Thus, the Present Perfect tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows: I have worked you have worked he has worked she has worked it has worked we have worked they have worked See Exercise 1. The following contractions are often used in spoken English: Without Contractions With Contractions I have I've you have you've he has he's
- 33. 32 she has she's it has it's we have we've they have they've It should be noted that the contractions for he has, she has and it has are the same as the contractions for he is, she is and it is. See Exercise 2. 3. Spelling rules for adding ed to form the past participle Some regular verbs change their spelling when the ending ed is added to form the past participle. a. Verbs ending in a silent e When a regular verb ends in a silent e, only the letter d must be added in order to form the past participle. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to close closed to move moved to please pleased to receive received b. Verbs ending in y When a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i before the ending ed is added. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to study studied to rely relied to carry carried However, when a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending ed is added. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to play played to convey conveyed to enjoy enjoyed See Exercise 3.
- 34. 33 c. Verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel The rules concerning the doubling of final consonants which apply when adding the ending ing to form the present participle also apply when adding the ending ed to form the past participle.Thus, when a one‐syllable verb ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ed is added to form the past participle. In the following examples, the consonants which have been doubled are underlined. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to rub rubbed to trim trimmed to plan planned to stop stopped When a verb of more than one syllable ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled before the ending ed only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress. In the following examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to control controlled to infer inferred to occur occurred to permit permitted to fasten fastened to order ordered to focus focused to limit limited In the first four examples, the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress, and the final consonant is doubled before ed is added. In the last four examples, the first syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress, and the final consonant is not doubled before ed is added. The final consonants w, x and y are never doubled when the ending ed is added. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to follow followed to box boxed to portray portrayed
- 35. 34 It should also be noted that final consonants immediately preceded by two vowels are not doubled when the ending ed is added. For example: Infinitive Past Participle to greet greeted to rain rained to soak soaked to treat treated See Exercise 4. 4. Pronunciation of the ed ending The ending ed is usually not pronounced as a separate syllable. For instance, in each of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the past participle consist of one syllable. For example: Bare Infinitive Past Participle puff puffed work worked miss missed watch watched However, when the ending ed is added to verbs which end in d or t, the ed ending of the past participle is pronounced as a separate syllable. The reason for this is that the sounds of d and t are so similar to the sound of the ed ending, that the ending must be pronounced as a separate syllable in order to be heard clearly. In each of the following examples, the bare infinitive consists of one syllable; whereas the past participle consists of two syllables. For example: Bare Infinitive Past Participle add added land landed hunt hunted wait waited Similarly, when d is added to verbs ending in a silent e preceded by d or t, the final ed of the past participle is pronounced as a separate syllable. In each of the following examples, the bare infinitive consists of one syllable; whereas the past participle consists of two syllables. For example:
- 36. 35 Bare Infinitive Past Participle fade faded glide glided cite cited note noted See Exercise 5. 5. Formation of the present perfect: Irregular verbs In addition to regular English verbs, there are many irregular English verbs, which do not form the past participle with the ending ed. The English irregular verbs are related to the strong verbs of the German language. The following are examples of irregular English verbs. For example: Bare Infinitive Past Participle begin begun find found go gone let let take taken The past participles of irregular English verbs are formed in an unpredictable manner, and must be memorized. A table of common English irregular verbs is provided. Except for the irregularity of the past participle, the formation of the Present Perfect tense is the same for an irregular verb as for a regular verb. In both cases, the Simple Present of the auxiliary to have is followed by the past participle of the verb. For instance, the irregular verb to take has the past participle taken. Thus, the Present Perfect of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows: I have taken you have taken he has taken she has taken it has taken we have taken they have taken See Exercise 6.
- 37. 36 6. Questions and negative statements As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative statements in the Present Perfect are formed using the auxiliary. In the case of the Present Perfect, the auxiliary is have or has. a. Questions In order to form a question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject of the verb. For example: Affirmative Statement Question I have worked. Have I worked? You have worked. Have you worked? He has worked. Has he worked? She has worked. Has she worked? It has worked. Has it worked? We have worked. Have we worked? They have worked. Have they worked? b. Negative statements In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the auxiliary. For example: Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I have worked. I have not worked. You have worked. You have not worked. He has worked. He has not worked. She has worked. She has not worked. It has worked. It has not worked. We have worked. We have not worked. They have worked. They have not worked. The following contractions are often used in spoken English: Without Contractions With Contractions have not haven't has not hasn't c. Negative questions In order to form a negative question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary. For example:
- 38. 37 Without Contractions With Contractions Have I not worked? Haven't I worked? Have you not worked? Haven't you worked? Has he not worked? Hasn't he worked? Has she not worked? Hasn't she worked? Has it not worked? Hasn't it worked? Have we not worked? Haven't we worked? Have they not worked? Haven't they worked? d. Tag questions Tag questions are also formed using the auxiliary. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I have worked. I have worked, haven't I? You have worked. You have worked, haven't you? He has worked. He has worked, hasn't he? She has worked. She has worked, hasn't she? It has worked. It has worked, hasn't it? We have worked. We have worked, haven't we? They have worked. They have worked, haven't they? See Exercise 7. 7. The present perfect continuous a. Use The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to express continuous, ongoing actions which have already been completed at the time of speaking or writing. In the following example, the verb in the Present Perfect Continuous tense is underlined.e.g. The bus has been waiting for one hour. The use of the Present Perfect Continuous tense in this example indicates that, at the time of speaking or writing, the bus has completed one hour of continuous.waiting. b. Formation The Present Perfect Continuous tense of any English verb is formed from the Present Perfect of to be, followed by the present participle of the verb. For instance, the Present Perfect Continuous tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:
- 39. 38 I have been working you have been working he has been working she has been working it has been working we have been working they have been working Thus, it can be seen that the Present Perfect Continuous tense has two auxiliaries. The first auxiliary is have or has, and the second auxiliary is been. See Exercise 8. c. Questions and negative statements When a verb has more than one auxiliary, it is the first auxiliary which must change its form to agree with the subject of the verb. It is also the first auxiliary which is used to form questions and negative statements. Questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject of the verb. For example: Affirmative Statement Question I have been working. Have I been working? You have been working. Have you been working? He has been working. Has he been working? She has been working. Has she been working? It has been working. Has it been working? We have been working. Have we been working? They have been working. Have they been working? Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the first auxiliary. For example: Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I have been working. I have not been working. You have been working. You have not been working. He has been working. He has not been working. She has been working. She has not been working. It has been working. It has not been working. We have been working. We have not been working. They have been working. They have not been working. Negative questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject, and the
- 40. 39 word not after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the first auxiliary. For example: Without Contractions With Contractions Have I not been working? Haven't I been working? Have you not been working? Haven't you been working? Has he not been working? Hasn't he been working? Has she not been working? Hasn't she been working? Has it not been working? Hasn't it been working? Have we not been working? Haven't we been working? Have they not been working? Haven't they been working? Tag questions are formed using the first auxiliary. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. For example: Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I have been working. I have been working, haven't I? You have been working. You have been working, haven't you? He has been working. He has been working, hasn't he? She has been working. She has been working, hasn't she? It has been working. It has been working, hasn't it? We have been working. We have been working, haven't we? They have been working. They have been working, haven't they? See Exercise 9. EXERCISES for Chapter 4 1. Using the Present Perfect tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example: We ____________ the contest. (to enter) We have entered the contest. He ____________ the work. (to finish) He has finished the work. 1. They _______________ a pizza. (to order) 2. It _______________ to rain. (to start) 3. You _______________ the question. (to answer) 4. I _______________ the eggs. (to cook) 5. We _______________ the sauce. (to heat) 6. He _______________ the room. (to clean) 7. She _______________ the car. (to start) 8. They _______________ on the door. (to knock) 9. You _______________ on the lights. (to turn) 10. She _______________ them to come. (to ask)
- 47. 46 you were he was she was it was we were they were See Exercise 1. i. Questions and negative statements The Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to be do not use auxiliaries to form questions and negative statements. Instead, the verb itself is used. The verb to be forms questions and negative statements in the same way in the Simple Past as in the Simple Present. In order to form a question, the verb is placed before the subject. For example: Affirmative Statement Question I was awake. Was I awake? They were ready. Were they ready? In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the verb. For example: Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I was awake. I was not awake. They were ready. They were not ready. In spoken English, the following contractions are often used: Without Contractions With Contractions was not wasn't were not weren't In order to form a negative question, the verb is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not immediately follows the verb. For example: Without Contractions With Contractions Was I not awake? Wasn't I awake? Were they not ready? Weren't they ready? In order to form tag questions, the verb itself is used. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.
- 48. 47 Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I was awake. I was awake, wasn't I? They were ready. They were ready, weren't they? See Exercise 2. b. Other verbs English verbs other than the verb to be have the same form in the Simple Past, regardless of the subject. In the case of regular English verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle. For example, the Simple Past of the regular verb to work is conjugated as follows: I worked you worked he worked she worked it worked we worked they worked See Exercise 3. In the case of irregular English verbs, the form of the Simple Past must be memorized. As illustrated by the examples below, for some irregular verbs, the Simple Past is the same as the past participle; whereas for others, the Simple Past differs from the past participle. A table of 140 common English irregular verbs is provided. For example: Bare Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle begin began begun find found found go went gone let let let take took taken Like the regular verbs, irregular verbs other than the verb to be do not modify in the Simple Past, but have the same form, regardless of the subject. For example, the Simple Past of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows: I took you took he took
- 49. 48 she took it took we took they took See Exercise 4. i. Questions and negative statements In both the Simple Present and the Simple Past of verbs other than the verb to be, questions and negative statements are formed using the auxiliary to do and the bare infinitive. For questions and negative statements in the Simple Past, the Simple Past of the auxiliary to do is used. The Simple Past of to do is conjugated as follows: I did you did he did she did it did we did they did In order to change an affirmative statement into a question, did is placed before the subject, and the form of the verb is changed from the Simple Past to the bare infinitive. In the following example, the regular verb to work is used. The verb to work has the Simple Past worked, and the bare infinitive work. Affirmative Statement Question I worked. Did I work? You worked. Did you work? He worked. Did he work? She worked. Did she work? It worked. Did it work? We worked. Did we work? They worked. Did they work? See Exercise 5. In order to change an affirmative statement into a negative statement, did not is placed after the subject, and the form of the verb is changed to the bare infinitive. In the following
- 50. 49 example, the irregular verb to speak is used. The verb to speak has the bare infinitive speak and the Simple Past spoke. Affirmative Statement Negative Statement I spoke. I did not speak. You spoke. You did not speak. He spoke. He did not speak. She spoke. She did not speak. It spoke. It did not speak. We spoke. We did not speak. They spoke. They did not speak. See Exercise 6. In spoken English, the following contraction is often used: Without Contraction With Contraction did not didn't In order to change an affirmative statement into a negative Question, did is placed before the subject, not is placed after the subject, and the form of the verb is changed to the bare infinitive. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary did. For example: Without Contractions With Contractions Did I not work? Didn't I work? Did you not work? Didn't you work? Did he not work? Didn't he work? Did she not work? Didn't she work? Did it not work? Didn't it work? Did we not work? Didn't we work? Did they not work? Didn't they work? Tag questions are formed using the auxiliary did. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions. Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question I worked. I worked, didn't I? You worked. You worked, didn't you? He worked. He worked, didn't he? She worked. She worked, didn't she? It worked. It worked, didn't it? We worked. We worked, didn't we? They worked. They worked, didn't they? See Exercise 7.